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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. foot — a measure
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rash — a series
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. capital — money
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. content — the amount
  20. date — the fruit
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com